Number of US measles cases tops 800

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - The number of measles cases in the U.S. increased by 75 in the past week, reaching a total of 839 cases, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) report Monday.

This year’s total is inching closer to the number of cases reported, 963, in 1994, which is the highest annually in the last 25 years.

Of the 75 new cases, 66 were reported in New York, with 25 in Rockland County and 41 in New York City, according to CNN.

The highest number of cases was reported in New York City, where there was an outbreak in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.

The outbreak began when an unvaccinated child traveled to Israel and returned with the disease, according to the city’s health department.

The CDC said the majority of those affected have not been vaccinated, which has led to an unprecedented spread of the disease.

In response to the outbreak, New York City imposed a mandatory vaccination order for residents.

While the number of cases continues to increase, no new states have reported incidents in the last week.

There are currently measles outbreaks in Butte, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties in California, Rockland County in New York state, New York City and the states of Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington.

About one or two out of every 1,000 people who get measles will die from the disease, but the illness has not caused a death in the U.S. since 2015, according to the CDC.

Last month, the number of measles cases surpassed the record for highest number of cases since authorities declared person-to-person transmission of the disease eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.